BATTLE FOR THE ROSE BOWL: USC VS. UCLA : What Troy Did to Troy : Aikman’s Only Poor Outing for UCLA Was Against USC

Troy Aikman didn’t sleep much for about 2 weeks last November after UCLA’s 17-13 loss to USC kept the favored Bruins out of the Rose Bowl.

Too much on his mind.

UCLA lost on the day Aikman turned 21, but the only things memorable for the UCLA quarterback on a milestone birthday were the frustration and disappointment.

He has called it “probably the worst day of my life.”

Certainly, it was the worst of his 22 starts at UCLA.

After having thrown only 3 interceptions in the Bruins’ first 10 1/2 games, including the first half against USC, the transfer from Oklahoma threw 3 of them in the last 20 minutes against the Trojans as UCLA squandered a 13-0 third-quarter advantage.

While USC quarterback Rodney Peete completed 23 of 35 passes for 304 yards and 2 fourth-quarter touchdowns, Aikman completed only 11 of 26 passes for 171 yards and no touchdowns.

It is the only game in which Aikman did not complete at least 50% of his passes for the Bruins.

“I recall sitting there after the game and not believing what had happened had actually taken place,” Aikman said.

On the morning after, Aikman beat it to Henryetta, Okla., to spend Thanksgiving with this family.

Once there, he replayed every detail of the game in his mind, over and over.

But he didn’t mope.

“I tried to stay upbeat and realize that football is a game,” he said. “But inside, I was hurting. That’s one of the reasons I wasn’t getting a lot of sleep.

“Losing a game--you can live with that. But not going to the Rose Bowl--I had my heart set on that.

“I was disappointed in myself. I didn’t think I played very well in that game. That was frustrating. If you can walk off the field, whether you’ve won or not, and know that you’ve played as hard as you could have, that’s the best you can do.

“I played as hard as I could have in that game, but I didn’t play as well as I could have. And that was hard to take. It wasn’t because I played poorly that we lost the game, but had I played better, we could have won.”

Had his nerves betrayed him?

“I wasn’t up-tight,” he said. “I don’t feel like I was pressing at all. It was just one of those days when I just didn’t play well. Everybody has a bad game. It’s just unfortunate that mine came at a bad time.”

What happened?

As a crowd of 92,516 settled into the Coliseum, Aikman led the nation in passing efficiency. He had completed 68.2% of his passes and led the Bruins to a 9-1 record, including 8 straight victories after a loss at Nebraska. UCLA was an 8 1/2-point favorite over the Trojans, who were 7-3.

“It was just like any other Saturday--I felt confident going in,” Aikman said. “But, for whatever reason, I never got in a good groove, never got my rhythm. Even in the first half, I didn’t feel good throwing.”

Still, UCLA led at the half, 10-0, and increased its advantage to 13-0 on a field goal by Alfredo Velasco with 12 minutes 2 seconds left in the third quarter.

It was 13-3 when a 27-yard pass from Aikman to Paco Craig moved the Bruins into USC territory.

But, on first down at the USC 31, Aikman’s pass intended for tight end Corwin Anthony was intercepted by free safety Cleveland Colter.

“It was a good read,” Aikman said. “It was just a poor throw. I threw it behind (Anthony), and Colter made a great play. He dove out in front of Corwin and intercepted the ball.”

According to Steve Axman, UCLA’s offensive coordinator, the play went wrong when fullback Mel Farr Jr., who was supposed to run a pass route, was forced to stay in the backfield to block.

“We felt we had them on the run and we were trying to go with a deep route,” Axman said. “Corwin was the outlet underneath. But the deep route was covered and the problem that ensued was that they rushed an end and tied up our fullback.

“In essence, we would have had a 2-on-1 on Colter, but when the fullback didn’t get out, Colter was able to jump underneath the control route to the tight end. If the fullback had been able to get out, Colter wouldn’t have been able to jump the route like he did.”

USC took over and drove 76 yards in 12 plays, making it 13-10 early in the fourth quarter.

Aikman, facing third and 23 at the UCLA 45 on the Bruins’ next possession, overshot Craig over the middle. The pass was intercepted by strong safety Mark Carrier, whose 72-yard return for a touchdown was nullified by an illegal block by the Trojans.

“I just overthrew him,” Aikman said. “They had a safety playing deep and it was a perfect pass right to him.”

The ball was brought back to the USC 42 and the Trojans drove 58 yards in 6 plays to the touchdown that put them ahead, 17-13.

Aikman made it through UCLA’s next possession without mishap, but the Bruins moved only 12 yards before they were forced to punt.

Then, on UCLA’s last possession of the day, Aikman fumbled when he was hit by USC linebacker Bill Stokes. UCLA recovered, but with 1:07 to play, Aikman’s pass for flanker Mike Farr was intercepted by Carrier at the UCLA 38 and returned 19 yards.

“We were throwing it downfield on a desperation-type throw and it was picked off,” Aikman said.

Axman said the play was doomed before the ball was snapped.

“It ended up being an incorrect pattern because, in the middle of all the stress, the play wasn’t brought in correctly by the messenger,” Axman said. “It just didn’t have a chance. Troy, at that point, was just putting up a Hail Mary.”

Peete fell to the ground on the next play and time ran out.

“It was just an ugly day for the offense,” an exasperated Aikman told reporters after the game.

Said a delighted Carrier: “Our game plan was to intercept 5 passes. All we needed was 3.”

Aikman will be 22 on Monday.

By then, he also hopes to be 1-1 against Peete and the Trojans, who will face the Bruins Saturday at the Rose Bowl without the injured Colter. As was the case last season, the winner will advance to the Rose Bowl game, in which it will play Michigan.

“It seems like I just walked out of the Coliseum yesterday,” Aikman said. “The year has gone by that quickly. For me to have the opportunity to get back in that game and try to make up for what happened last year and try to get our team into the Rose Bowl--it’s going to be a big day for me.

“I’m looking forward to it. Win, lose or draw, I think every kid in America dreams of playing in games like this.”

When things go wrong, though, those kids have nightmares.